Thoughts on Torah, working, living in Israel and how they go together.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Charedi Seminary in Bnei Brak is offering a course in developing smartphone applications

According to newspaper reports one of the prestigious seminaries in Bnei Brak is starting a course to teach girls how to develop smartphone applications.

Isn't this ironic, on one hand, the Charedi rabbanim are railing against smartphones
and on the other hand the wives of Kollelnicks will be writing applications for those very
same smartphones.

A Charedi spokesman offered the following explanation:This is the crux of the conflict of the Charedi world with technology. On one hand it causes great damage, Yeshiva students are addicted to their iPhones and plummet in their level of religiosity. On the other hand, the world is moving ahead and people can make a good living from this.

The question we need to ask is how far will the Charedi world allow the women to go in supporting their husbands in learning? To develop smartphone applications you need a smartphone at some point (simulators/emulators are only good up to a certain extent, at some point you need to test on a real phone). What kind of rules will they need to invent to control the smartphone usage? Will it work? What will be the effect on the women?

This is a perfect example of the quagmire that the Charedi world is in today. You either need to become like the Amish and shun ALL modern technology or you need to embrace it, it is all but impossible to take a middle ground.